Charlotte 49ers have high stakes on rivalry game vs. App State. And yes, it’s a rivalry
A few minutes had passed since Appalachian State’s 56-41 victory against Charlotte last September was complete.
Coach Will Healy’s 49ers had been a more than three-touchdown underdog to the powerful Mountaineers. But Charlotte pushed App State to the limit in front of a near-capacity crowd in Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone.
Charlotte’s performance was a significant improvement from their game in 2018, when App State won 45-9 in Richardson Stadium in the programs’ first meeting since Charlotte started football in 2013.
But it wasn’t good enough for Healy, who at the time was in his first year with the 49ers.
“This is not a moral victory,” Healy said, standing next to a team bus. “Just competing with Appalachian State is not where we want to be. We’re not going to be everybody’s homecoming game any more. We’re not going to be a 24-point underdog to another Group of 5 team any more.”
Both teams went on to have memorable seasons. Charlotte had a winning record and played in a bowl game for the first time in program history. The Mountaineers finished 13-1, won the Sun Belt Conference title and were ranked 19th nationally.
The teams weren’t due to meet again until 2026, but, instead, Charlotte and App State play again Saturday in their 2020 season openers, again in Boone (noon, ESPN2). It’s a replacement game for both programs, after some nonconference games were struck from their schedules due to the coronavirus.
It’s a game between two programs separated by about 100 miles, both of which recruit the same caliber of high school player in the same geographic region that also is populated by thousands of alumni of both schools.
In other words, a natural rivalry.
Or is it? Healy begs to differ.
“It’s no rivalry until we beat them,” Healy told The Observer. “I know our fans are excited about it, but we’ve got to beat them for it to be a rivalry. It’s a tall task, but let’s go.”
Said first-year App State coach Shawn Clark: “It’s great for college football. Rivalry or nonrivalry … I hope it continues for a long time.”
But there are reasons beyond coach-speak for why the 49ers-Mountaineers game will always be a rivalry, the upcoming five-year hiatus notwithstanding (Charlotte and App State will play five consecutive years beginning in 2026).
First, the fans. In 2018, Charlotte added 2,500 temporary seats to Richardson Stadium (capacity of 15,314) to accommodate the crowd — much of which was clad in App State’s black and gold. The 2020 game in Boone drew 29,182, just under Kidd Brewer Stadium’s capacity of 30,000, with a significant amount of sections containing 49ers fans. (Saturday’s game will be played with no fans, due to coronavirus concerns.)
“I think it’s probably a bigger deal for our fans than it is for theirs right now, because we haven’t beat them,” Healy said. “Until there’s some give and take in this thing, it’s not going to be as big a big of a deal to both sides. I know it’s a big deal to us. I want it to be as big of a deal to them. But, regionally it’s a huge match up.”
Then there are the players.
Charlotte didn’t even have a team when 49ers quarterback Chris Reynolds and his family moved in 2010 to the Davie County town of Mocksville (about 60 miles northeast of Charlotte and about 90 miles southeast of Boone).
“They’re a highly respected team and they’ve been like that since I was in sixth grade when I moved (to Mocksville),” Reynolds said. “App State’s the team in Davie County. All my teachers went to App State and all my best friends from home, they all go to App State. So that’s all I knew growing up.”
Mountaineers senior center Noah Hannon, who is from Greer, S.C., enjoys what he says is definitely a meaningful game with the 49ers.
“It’s become a great rivalry for us,” Hannon said. “It’s just a lot of fun and you know they’re a program that recruits a lot of us. A lot of us coming up had an offer from Charlotte. So you’re kind of competing for the same type of guys. That’s something that’s going to keep growing.”
Rivalry or not, the game is special — nobody is denying that. Healy remembers how he felt and the words he spoke after last season’s game
“I mean, I was passionate about that,” he said earlier this week. “I knew our fans would be excited about being competitive because we hadn’t been in it with App in the past. But I didn’t want that to be a benchmark that we just scored some points. The reality of the situation is, we were never in a position to win the game.”
The 49ers aren’t 24-point underdogs Saturday. App State is only favored by 17. Charlotte will likely face similar odds when it plays at 18th-ranked North Carolina next week and at Duke on Oct. 31.
“In my opinion, to gain respect you’ve got to go beat one of those big boys,” Healy said. “App has obviously earned the opportunity to be one of the faces of the Group of 5.”
App State’s climb to college football prominence has been fueled by winning exactly the kinds of games of games Healy is describing. The Mountaineers beat Michigan in one of the sport’s biggest upsets ever in 2007. Last season, App State beat North Carolina and South Carolina -- both on the road.
“We’re still not anywhere close to having respect,” Healy said. “So what a great test for us to be able to go out there and see how far our program’s come.”
Charlotte at Appalachian State
When: Noon, Saturday.
Where: Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone.
TV: ESPN2.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 1:30 PM.